Road Trip On Scenic 101 Highway

Road trips in USA are an essential part of any family's life. Such trips give an opportunity to explore, enjoy and spending quality time , thus develop bonding among the family members and the group of friends and relatives while traveling together. The trip experience is far different from the conducted tours where everything is pre decided and pre arranged that to for a group.

@Pics and Text : Pradeep Gupta

Normally the family and friends drive to the destinations in own vehicles, the itineraries are flexible and can be modified as per the weather conditions, mutual convenience of the group members. This flexibility gives you a lot of leverage where ever you want to stay you may stay, as long as you want to stay to enjoy nature, interacting with locals, eating their local cuisine and have a very different feel.

So during my visit to Seattle, USA this summer , we decided to go on a road trip to California. Initially the plan was to touch the southern most tip of California , but as only one week was left at our disposal, we could cover only the northern part passing through equally beautiful Oregon state. The trip was memorable as the drive, sceneries , ocean, cliffs, forests, and sheer beauty of untouched, rugged coastline were absolutely breathtaking. These are not beaches full or tourists or bathers, reason is simple, climate year round is very cold, barring few weeks of the summer, one faces gusty wind and foggy conditions. These sights are mostly raw and untouched, barely changed over thousands of years. I'ts hard to believe that you are in the United States.

Our journey started from Seattle in late evening to avoid mad evening traffic thus saving time, crossing Portland, the capital of Washington State, this city is having a balance of urban and natural landscapes.

From Portland the route is a little further south down the coast, than to Astoria. It follows one of the main highways to the coast, normally on this road weekend traffic used to be heavy, but being a working day traffic was very thin.

It was is quite a long haul for one day but the journey was quite enjoying due to full moon night.

There are two significant climbs on this route – out of Banks there’s a shorter climb, and the major one is to the summit of the Coast Range past Gales Creek – a gain of over 1,000 feet in around five miles. But from there it’s mostly all downhill into Tillamook.

Tillamook is inland from the ocean. It is dairy nation. Believe me the place is having population of only 6000 people, still it It is very famous famous for its cheese production, you may find Tillamook cheese in every food store and is known for its quality. We did not have time to spend a day here otherwise there is an interesting air museum. On the Oregon Coast Route, we drove through Three Capes Scenic Loop, from downtown Tilllamook.

Journey from Tillamook to Lincoln City is only 50 miles. Located in Lincoln County, this City is on the scenic Oregon Coast at the 45th parallel. It is bordered by 680-acre Devils Lake and the Coast Range on the east with the Pacific Ocean on the west.The city boasts 7½ miles of beautiful, clean sandy beaches, the Salmon River to the north, and the Siletz River and Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the south. Lincoln City enjoys a mild maritime climate, has a thriving retirement community and is a popular tourist destination. We stayed overnight at Lincoln City, after taking complementary spent few hours at beach, it the morning sunshine. This area is ideal for whale watching, some 200 grey whale live here and it is a real fun to encounter them.

Driving on 101 scenic highway, next coastal town is Newport, it is a old township, established in and around Yaquina Bay area in the year 1882.Nestled between the Coast Mountains, Pacific Ocean and Yaquina Bay, the natural beauty of the area draws those
seeking a unique and exciting coastal experience.

The Bayfront had been town ’s economic backbone, housing a port for the commercial fishing and wood products industries. Today, the Bayfront is still home to one of Oregon’s largest commercial fishing fleets. The Bayfront is a working waterfront on which visitors can enjoy shops, art galleries, chowder houses, restaurants, fish processing plants and family attractions in turn-of-the-century storefronts from a bygone era.

Newport’s beginnings shaped two distinct areas of town: the Historical Bayfront and Nye Beach. During the early 1900s, Nye Beach was the number one visitor attraction on the coast. Hot sea baths, taffy stores, agate shops entertained visitors from the Willamette Valley. Nye Beach is still a very popular haven for the arts, with the Newport Performing Arts and Visual Arts Center amidst unique galleries, book stores, eateries, shopping and lodging.

We stopped for lunch at Shark’s Seafood Baron the docks in Newport. In fact we were looking for something vegetarian on their menu card we settled for boiled potato, however children settled for some super Cioppino The place is very small and that it takes time to get your food because they prepare it one plate at a time. Well worth it if you have the time. Stopped by to watch the sea lions on the dock for a while afterwards.

Driving further towards California,Yaquina Head is the site of Oregon’s tallest and second oldest active lighthouse. The 93-foot-tall structure was completed in 1872. Built on Yaquina Head, the lighthouse is located at a natural area that was created by lava flow
more than 14 million years ago.

We passed through Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, where we spent sometime exploring the tide pools and also the Devil's Churn area. Well worth the time. Next stop: Heceta Head Lighthouse. They have converted the lighthousekeeper's house into a bed-and-breakfast. Kind of expensive, but we may stay there next time anyway, as it has beautiful views of the coastline and beach.

Tahkenitch Creek Trailhead was next stop. Enjoyed walking through a beautiful forested area to the sand dunes, and back.

By late evening we reached Coos Bay, our stay arrangements were made in Quality Inn, were very tired of day long driving as well as activities, so had very nice sleep.

Wake up with sunrise, we came out, despite official summer days, it was quite windy and chilling, after our complimentary breakfast we started driving in and around city.

Historically known as Marshfield, Coos Bay proudly stands today as the largest city on the Oregon Coast. Surrounded by a beautiful bay, lush emerald forests and the mighty Pacific Ocean, Coos Bay continues to celebrate its history in shipbuilding, lumber products and tradition as the regional hub for Oregon's south coast.

Sunset Beach provides visitors with direct access to the Pacific Ocean with expansive views from Cape Disappointment to the north and Ecola State Park to the south.

Situated in one of the most scenic areas on the Oregon coast, Sunset Bay State Park features beautiful sandy beaches protected by towering sea cliffs. Only a short walk from the beach, the campground has sites for tent camping and RV's, as well as cozy and comfortable yurts. Day-use and picnic facilities are located along the bay to allow easy access for beach combing, fishing, swimming, and boating.

A network of hiking trails connects Sunset Bay with nearby Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Parks. Hiking these trails will give you a chance to experience pristine coastal forests, seasonal wildflowers and spectacular ocean vistas from atop the rugged cliffs and headlands. From points along the trail, you'll be treated to views of Gregory Point and the Cape Arago lighthouse.

Though the driving time between Florence and Crescent City is about 3.5 hours, but we took almost a day, so there was plenty of time at our disposal for us to stop wherever something looks interesting.

North of Florence, the road once again hugs the ocean and that stretch is very scenic. There are several places to stop and look or get outand walk a bit .

Driving on the way, we found Bandon good place to eat and buy some bakery item. Bandon is a pleasant small town, and we stopped and browse a few of the shops in old town. This is cranberry country! North of Bandon, the road once again goes inland.

Reedsport has Don's Diner, good old fashioned food, very friendly. In Winchester Bay, there is Unger's on the Bay, a small fish-n-chips shop on a floating dock. Small place but fresh fish.

Oh, I almost forgot about food . Many people like the Norwegian in Port Orford. Last time we tried there food, it not so good a bit overpriced.

Highway 20 to Corvallis will have construction and *lots* of traffic.There are two stretches which are affected and have temporary lanes and it's subject to delays.

At Redsports,,one can drive inland about 3-4 miles to the Dean Creek viewing area and can also find elks. There is plenty of parking and there will be elk.

The highway is now inland tucked behind the great sand dunes. North of Lakside, as one may go up the hill, there is a nice viewpoint at the top. We could see Triangle Oyster Farms and Winchester Bay. There is also a good overview of the sand dunes, from here we  turned to left into Winchester Bay and follow the road-out beyond the campgrounds, about 3 miles all paved. Lo and turn around, there are massive dunes. This is OHV heaven here, and we could see lots of them alongside the road and in the dunes. The road now lead inland and Langlois used to be a big sheep and cattle farming area. It had its own creamery that produced blue cheese, but it burned down in the 1950's.

Ophir is a long stretch of sandy beach that is easy to reach with a very short, flat walk. Arizona Beach, just north of here, is also another good place to park and walk out onto the beach, all flat. Then the highway curls around Humbug Mountain and reaches Port Orford, which has a lovely little day usepark with a gorgeous view.

North of Brookings is the Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor with plenty of small day use stopping points. you'll see signs. Also look on the right for all the names of the creeks as you pass over them. Oregon's highest bridge is through here. Pistol River is a very pretty area, different from much of the rest of the coast.

We stopped and looked at the Mary D Hume ; there was an informative sign.
Located on the south bank of Rouge river. It was a steamer built at Gold Beach by R D Hume. She has an interesting story, it used to ferry between San Francisco and Oregon, thereafter as a whaler in Alaska, then as a tugh boat. Retired in 1977, returned to Gold beach, in 1985 she sunk into Rouge river and has remained there ever since as derelict vessel on the shoreline, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you decide you'd like a picnic, Brookings has both a large Ray's and a Fred Meyer store - both have delis where you may make up sandwiches. Ray's sandwiches are probably a bit better but Freddie's deli has more variety.

Going north, you might like to take a few minutes at the ShipAshore. It is, quite literally, a ship up by the highway. It's mostly a gifts-hop but there is a teeny museum that talks about it's history and how you got the ship to where it is. Also in Smith River, on the left you may see a horse ranch where the guy has made several full size horse sculptures out of horseshoes.

Finally our last leg to visit Redwood National park was Crescent City. We shall talk about Redwood on some other occasion.

Crescent City is a very small with population around 7000 souls but a great place. The beach area of city is also good to spend the day when you have a bunch of surfers and paddle boarders in your group. The beach is fairly level so it's good for little ones too. It is a sandy beach not a rocky one so not many tide pools.

The whole trip has given us opportunity to explore new dream like places as well emotional bonding with our own family members who stay apart for livelihood.